Rollo’s Solutions has been operating since 1989. One of the family members who works there says he’s grateful no one was hurt.
HOUSTON — A Houston family is relieved no one was hurt when a fire tore through a massive warehouse in southwest Houston.
The fire started just before midnight Friday along the Southwest Freeway near Fountain View Drive. Off of Star Lane, just a block away, you can see the damage to nearby buildings.
“This is where the employees have lunch, this was the break room,” Christopher Leon said. He works at Rollo’s Solutions — managing the website for his parents’ business, which has been operating since 1989.
Leon has many memories inside the tire, wheel and body shop, starting at their first location on Richmond and Chimney Rock.
“When we were over there, there’s photos of me as 2 or 3 years old in a tire, rolling around. Back when I was 18, I started the inventory system,” Leon said.
He was home when he learned about the fire. The families’ stock of used tires was burning for hours from Friday night into Saturday morning.
“Apparently, tires are the worst thing to catch,” Leon said.
The fire makes the building a total loss. Fire burned through most of the warehouse where tires are stored and Leon said there is water and smoke damage in their main building.
Two other properties were damaged, including a rug store and a car rental agency.
Michael Roa, the landlord of the building next door to Rollo’s, spent the day inspecting the damage.
“I got a call that it was a loud bang, and then I got a call there was a fire, I got a call several of our properties were on fire,” Roa said.
According to the Houston Fire Department, it took more than five hours to put out the flames. The fire department’s arson division is investigating the cause. HFD said its investigators are gathering and reviewing surveillance video.
HFD said they checked water runoff and air quality and there are no environmental concerns at this time.
CenterPoint Energy gave KHOU 11 News the following statement:
“On Saturday morning, a fire in the area near 5910 Southwest Freeway caused significant damage to CenterPoint Energy’s electric infrastructure. First responders have released the scene to our crews, who are actively working to restore service to the 76 impacted customers as safely and quickly as possible. Due to the extent of the damage, some infrastructure will need to be rebuilt. While there is currently no estimated time of restoration, crews are constructing a temporary line to bring power back to most customers. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Safety remains CenterPoint’s top priority. We urge customers to stay at least 35 feet away from downed power lines or fallen wires, call 911 if there has been an injury, and report downed power lines to CenterPoint by calling 713-207-2222.”
Leon said he’s grateful no one was hurt and is waiting for confirmation of the cause.
“It’s going to be a long road…We don’t know what it’s going to be like to navigate these systems and it can seem pretty pessimistic about, but we’re taking it with optimism and going to see what’s next,” Leon said.